US envoys meet with Putin, leave Russia for Kyiv

US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday evening.

"The situation is of course not simple," Putin told the US officials in footage aired on Russian state media. 

Putin and US envoys held "useful" talks on a range of ideas to end the war in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

According to Russian media outlets, US envoys left Moscow after the meeting.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump said Kushner and Witkoff were traveling to Russia with a new proposal, but he did not provide any details on the potential peace plan, including whether it involved Ukraine giving territory to Russia as he has previously suggested. Instead, he said, "We have an idea for peace."

In the meeting with Putin, Kushner and Witkoff discussed "substantive plans" for the next steps toward ending the Ukraine war, the White House said, adding that more details would be announced next week.

The envoys "look forward to equally productive meetings tomorrow in Ukraine," a White House official said in a statement.

Russia, Ukraine pause strikes for three days

The Kremlin said Russian forces would pause strikes against Kyiv for three days in conjunction with the peace negotiations.

Putin "ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state media.

The order came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had already committed to pausing airstrikes for the talks.

"As with previous diplomatic visits by the American side, we will ensure the normal functioning of Russian airspace so that the negotiators can arrive safely. We are concerned about their safety, not about Russia," Zelenskyy said.

US envoys to make first visit to Kyiv

Zelenskyy announced on Friday that Kushner and Witkoff would visit Ukraine on Sunday following talks in Moscow.

Recent media reports have questioned whether the pair would indeed travel to Ukraine. Despite trips to Moscow to meet with Russian officials, the US envoys have not visited Kyiv since Trump's reelection last year.

On Saturday, Zelenskyy said he had been in contact with Kushner and Witkoff.

"I ⁠have ​just spoken ​with the US president’s ​envoys," Zelenskyy said ‌on Telegram.

"From the moment of this conversation, ​we ⁠are ready to observe a ⁠ceasefire ​in airstrikes against the cities involved in the negotiation process."

Trump had promised to end the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, on his first day back in office, but has more recently said that the feat was more complicated than expected. In the past, he has blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion and a "personality problem" between the countries' leaders for the continued fighting. 

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru, Wesley Dockery, Dmytro Hubenko

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